The Raid: for My Hat
by open-sketchbook
Summary: A team of bears becomes trapped in a great old tree run by a ruthless rabbit and his army of killers and thugs.


In the very middle of the deep green forest there is a great and ancient tree. It stretches farther into the sky than any other, and it is bigger around than the Big Rock, which is generally considered by the inhabitants of the forest to be the gold standard in big things. It's gnarled roots and twisted branches have woven into each other, and into the trees around it, and are so vast and so thick that if you stood among them you could not see out into the open air, a forest atop the forest.

Once, this great tree was a symbol of peace and harmony in the forest, and creatures came from all around to marvel at it's size and beauty. But those days have passed, for the notorious crime lord Tama, the most sinister and evil of all rabbits, took control of the tree, his monopoly on the criminal trades giving him the power he needed to claim the great tree for himself as a fortress.

Tama was great, but he was also very small. He and his enforcer, a terrible beastly Mad Dog, could only live in the smallest portion of the tree, even living as luxuriously as they could. So, for the price of a few walnuts apiece, they rented the lower branches the worst forest animals they could find; thieving ravens, cruel squirrels and deadly wolves with long, sharp fangs. A few were merely desperate and down on their luck as winter approached, but few they were, and they lived in constant fear of their neighbours.

And so it was for season after season, the creatures of the forest too fearful to do anything about it. Once, as winter approached, some raccoons and chipmunks with nowhere else to go tried to take the great tree for themselves, but they were never heard of again. The creatures of the forest pleaded with the bears, the great caretakers, but winter was approaching, and they were fat and lazy as they prepared to hibernate. Ask us again in the spring, they said.

Spring came.  
-

Rama paced impatiently at the base of the little pine, his eyes fixed on it as though it were a deadly beast. He moved slowly and deliberately, as though he had just awoken from a long sleep; indeed, this was not far from the truth, as the winter had only just ended and he had stumbled from his cave much lighter than he had entered it. It had been shocking news when he learned his first duties upon awakening. Shocking and troubling.

Suddenly, with a roar, he leapt at the tree, claws extended. Short, quick swipes torn into bark and wood, and seconds later, the tree tumbled as though it were a sapling, and Rama stood on his hind legs, breathing heavily.

"Alright, so I trust you all know why you are here." Sergeant Jaka said, sweeping a paw around the assembled creatures. Twenty of the finest bears of the forest, the best team that could be assembled on such a short notice. "Word has come that it is time to take the criminal Tama down and take back the ancient tree. We'll be going in by the cover of dawn, and taking them by surprise."

"Where's Lieutenant Wahyu?" Asked Bowo, one of the most experienced bears. "Isn't he supposed to be leading this?"

"He's going to meet us there." Jaka said, pointing to a small pebble on the map he had scrawled in the dirt. "Alright, is everyone ready?"

The was a chorus of nods, and the bears set off into the forest.

Rama hadn't seen the great old tree since he was a cub, and it's scale was undiminished by age. However, it seemed wrong somehow, the branches bare, the bare greyed as though some sort of stress had taken a toll. Watching eyes peaked out between twigs and trunks before vanishing again, and the forest had taken on a sinister air.

Lieutenant Wahyu was waiting for them under the cover of a fallen oak, looking somehow different. Older, perhaps. No, that wasn't it. Still, he looked as sharp and determined as ever, perhaps even more so.

"Is this the best you could get, Jaka?" He growled as the team grew near. Jaka nodded carefully.

"They are good bears, lieutenant, well trained. They won't mess this up for you."

Wahyu prowled along the line, sizing up the bears carefully. "They still look half-asleep! We have one chance at this. If they blow it..."

Rama knew that Jaka was weighing his instinctual desire to defend his team's abilities with his deference to authority. His job ultimately won out, and Rama stayed silent as Wahyu finished his impromptu inspection, his eyes coming to rest on Rama himself.

"Say, you look familiar. By any chance, do you know anything about the whereabouts of my hat?" He said, an eager look in his eyes.

"What does you hat look like?" Ask Rama, unsure where this line of questioning was going.

"Well, it's red, and pointy." Wahyu made a strange sort of gesture with his paws, as though he were trying to trace it's shape in the air.

Suddenly, Rama remembered. Wahyu was never without his trademark hat, and it was gone now. No wonder he looked different!

"The last time I saw your hat, it was on your head." Said Rama truthfully.

"Are you sure?" Wahyu leaned in close, baring his teeth ever so slightly. Rama nodded nervously.

"Okay." The lieutenant said, backing away. "Thank you anyway."

They set off for the great old tree.


End file.
